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Chet Holmgren, Thunder agree to rookie max extension

OKC's promising young forward, Chet Holmgren, has agreed to a reported deal worth up to $250 million.

From NBA.com News Services

Last season, Chet Holmgren averaged 15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2.2 blocks per game for the Thunder.

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Chet Holmgren has agreed on a five-year contract extension worth nearly $240 million to remain with the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, the team announced on Sunday.

ESPN, which first reported the deal, citing agent Bill Duffy, said it could eventually be worth $250 million because of various contract escalators.

It is the third major extension for the Thunder since winning the NBA title last month. The other went to Kia MVP, NBA Finals MVP and reigning scoring champion Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who got a four-year, $285 million extension.

The Thunder also gave an extension to Jalen Williams — another huge part of the title team — to lock up the entirety of their young core for years.

Holmgren will make $13.7 million this coming season, the final year of his rookie deal, before his salary jumps to about $41 million for 2026-27 and the start of the extension.

Last season, Holmgren averaged 15 points, eight rebounds, two assists and 2.2 blocks per game for Oklahoma City while shooting 49% overall and 37.9% on 3-pointers.

He was the No. 2 pick behind the Orlando Magic’s Paolo Banchero in the 2022 NBA Draft, then missed the entirety of what would have been his first NBA season with a foot injury. He played all 82 games in 2023-24 to help the Thunder make the Western Conference semifinals, then was limited to 32 games this past season after suffering a hip injury.

Holmgren was there for the entirety of the Thunder playoff run, averaging 15.2 points and 8.7 rebounds in 23 postseason games — capped by Oklahoma City holding off Indiana and winning the NBA Finals in a seven-game thriller.

The way Holmgren came back from the injury is one of the stories that seemed to stick with Thunder general manager Sam Presti the most during the title run.

“They went through a fair amount of adversity during the season,” Presti said last month in his end-of-season meeting with reporters. “In reality, a lot of that adversity forged us into the team that we were, playing different lineups and being without certain players and then getting those players back, and the selflessness and humility that the players coming back had to have in order to fit into a team that was really cooking without them. Chet is one example of that, but we had many others.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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